ABC/Randy Holmes — Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images
Director Christopher Nolan‘s movie Oppenheimer, about J. Robert Oppenheimer, one of the creators of the atomic bomb, has just added some nuclear level star power.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that Robert Downey Jr. and Matt Damon will join Nolan repeat player Cillian Murphy in the project; he’s playing the titular scientist.
The trade notes Damon will play Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, the military director of the secret Manhattan Project that was behind the atomic bomb’s creation.
For his part, Downey, will reportedly play Lewis Strauss, the Atomic Energy Commissioner who ended up getting Oppenheimer’s security clearance revoked after the scientist felt conflicted about unleashing the devastating power on the world.
Emily Blunt, who starred in this year’s hits A Quiet Place Part II and Jungle Cruise, will reportedly play Kitty Oppenheimer, the physicist’s wife, in the project that’s based on the Pulitzer-winning 2005 book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Jessica Simpson celebrated being four years sober on Monday by sharing an unflinching look at her battle with alcoholism.
To mark the milestone, the fashion mogul shared a haunting throwback photo where she looks almost unrecognizable and explained it was taken on the day she vowed to stop drinking. Simpson’s face is red, puffy and streaked with tears as she sits in what appears to be her living room.
“This person in the early morning of Nov 1, 2017 is an unrecognizable version of myself,” the singer writes. “I had so much self discovery to unlock and explore. I knew in this very moment I would allow myself to take back my light, show victory over my internal battle of self respect, and brave this world with piercing clarity. Personally, to do this I needed to stop drinking alcohol.”
Simpson said she knew in that moment that drinking “kept my mind and heart circling in the same direction” and that she “was exhausted” from the pain.
“I wanted to live as a leader,” she continued, noting that in order to do so, she had to never look back “with regret and remorse over any choice I have made and would make.”
Simpson then opened up about the “stigma around the word alcoholism” and explained what it means to commit to a sober lifestyle.
“The real work that needed to be done in my life was to actually accept failure, pain, brokenness, and self sabotage. The drinking wasn’t the issue. I was,” she said. “I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect my own power. Today I do.”
Simpson says she now embraces every part of herself, including the “parts of my life that are just sad,” and that makes her “free.”
When Peacock’s Saved by the Bell reboot returns for its upcoming second season on November 24, the show will pay tribute to original cast member Dustin Diamond, who died of lung cancer in February at the age of 44.
Diamond, who played Samuel “Screech” Powers from the show’s inception in 1989, through its College Years and New Class spinoffs — 12 years in all — was referenced in the first season of the reboot, though he was not invited onto it as a guest star.
Executive producer Franco Bario, who also produced the original series, tells Variety he spoke with Diamond ahead of the season one premiere to “fill him in on the Screech mentions in the first season and how those may lead us to possible stories that would include him in season two.” However, after learning of Diamond’s death, Bario and showrunner Tracey Wigfield decided to celebrate Dustin as an actor and Screech as a character in season two.
“I didn’t know him and I hadn’t met him,” Wigfield tells Variety. “Just thinking about it as a fan, I knew we wanted to do more than just putting a picture of him up at the end.”
After pitching the idea to original cast members Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Mario Lopez, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen and Lark Voorhies, who appear on the show in different capacities, Wigfield and Bario wrote a scene in which the five OG cast members would reunite at the group’s favorite hangout, The Max, to remember their friend.
The tribute to Diamond also includes clips of him in the original series, to demonstrate that he was not just “an outrageous character” or “the butt of a joke,” but “to show how important he was to the show the other characters.”
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures
Dave Bautista wants the world to know that he’s more than just an “action guy.”
In his latest film, Dune, Bautista says he had the chance to show his skillset as an actor when took on the role of Glossu Rabban, an enforcer for his evil uncle Baron Harkonnen.
“The thing with this character was it just gave me an opportunity to showcase a different type of performance,” Bautista tells ABC Audio. “And that’s what I really love about working with [director Denis Villeneuve], I get an opportunity to show myself as a performer in a different light.”
That different light, Bautista explains, is embodied in his Dune character, who he says is solely motivated by both cruelty and power.
“Like he really wants to be cruel,” Bautista shares. “He’s waiting for the OK from his uncle to say, ‘OK, Rabban, be cruel.'” That’s all he’s waiting for, because that’s all he cares about…”
As simple as his character’s motivation is in the sci-fi drama, Bautista says he’s thankful for his villainous role, which also offered him the opportunity to step away from his “action guy” persona.
“I’m not just a guy in Guardians [of the Galaxy] walking around shirtless and saying stupid s***,” he laughs. “[The role] really just gives me the opportunity to just play these like really, really deep characters. So that’s a blessing.”
Dune, also starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, is in theaters. Meanwhile, Dune part two is scheduled for release sometime in 2023.
Sony Pictures has released a new trailer for its pandemic-delayed Marvel movie Morbius. The creepy coming attraction pays off the trailer’s tease, “The line between hero and villain will be broken.”
Jared Leto stars as Dr. Michael Morbius, a brilliant doctor and biochemist who seeks an unconventional cure for the rare blood disease that afflicts him. Short version: he becomes a vampire.
No stranger to shaping himself for a character, as he did with his Oscar-winning role in The Dallas Buyer’s Club, the 30 Seconds To Mars frontman’s physical shape-shift from diseased doctor to avenging anti-hero is impressive.
“I went from dying to being more alive than ever,” his character says.
Enhanced with super-strength, echolocation and the ability to fly, Morbius soon finds his need to feed on human blood dovetails pretty well with the New York City’s well-stocked supply of creeps.
The film exists in Sony’s so-called Venom-verse: The shared universe is acknowledged when a cop mentions “that thing in San Francisco,” where Tom Hardy‘s movies are set, and when Morbius easily defends himself against a knife-wielding thug.
“Who are you, man!” the subdued baddie asks.
“I am Venom,” Leto says, flashing his vampire visage for a moment, before reverting to his human face. “I’m just kidding,” he smiles, “I’m Dr. Michael Morbius, at your service.”
Morbius, which also stars Oscar winner Michael Keaton, Emmy winner Jared Harris, and Tyrese Gibson as a sympathetic detective on Morbius’ trail, opens January 28, 2022.
Marvel is owned by Disney, parent company of ABC News.
Josh Brolin marked eight years of sobriety with a lengthy Instagram post that ended with him thanking his friends and family for “the most punk rock sobriety imaginable”
“Sobriety is finally loving without every thought being about how it affects only you. Sobriety is a moment of being able to love and be consumed by the glee it brings someone else. Sobriety is knowing the difference between selfishness and integrity,” The Dune star begins the post.
Adds Brolin, “Sobriety is knowing the moon late at night when she was there for you in your toughest hour and, now, again, her witnessing your greatest joys.”
The 53-year-old actor went on to list the joys of being sober, including, “Climbing in your truck for a 6am call after 8 years of sobriety and there being a card from your wife telling you how grateful she is for having made the decision to put it down,” and how “your children look at you and trust what they see.”
Josh concluded by thanking his family and friends for helping him get through his battle with alcohol.
“Sobriety is about living better than your remembrance of what your greatest drunk ever was — an everyday malleability into gratitude for what is,” noting, “None of this is deserved. All of it is perception. Thank you God, family, and friends for the most punk rock sobriety imaginable.”
After rumors of his positive diagnosis swirled last week, the Dune star confirmed the news on Friday. Taking to his Instagram Story, which was captured in a TikTok, Momoa said, “I got hit with COVID right after the [Dune] premiere.”
“There’s a lot of people I met in England,” he explained. “Got a lot of aloha from people, and who knows. Either way, I’m doing fine.”
The Aquaman actor shared that he’s been “camped out in his house.” He also panned to show his current roommate, professional skater Erik Ellington, zipping through their home on a skateboard and laughed, “We’re having a ball!”
The big cat rights activist and her husband, Howard Baskin, filed a lawsuit on Monday claiming that their contract was breached by Royal Goode Productions for using the couple in the Netflix sequel to the Tiger King documentary series when, according to the suit, they signed releases for the first installment only, according to documents obtained by Variety.
As described by Netflix, “… the Emmy-nominated saga continues its twisted course with Tiger King 2 as newfound revelations emerge on the motivations, backstories, and secrets of America’s most notorious big cat owners. Old enemies and frenemies, including Jeff Lowe, Tim Stark, Allen Glover, and James Garretson return for another season of murder, mayhem, and madness. Thought you knew the whole story? Just you wait.”
Carole wants the streamer to remove all “unauthorized” footage of herself from the sequel, including the trailer. She and her husband also sought to delay the sequel’s premiere, but a federal judge late Monday denied that request, according to Deadline.
Tiger King 2 is set to debut on November 17, which is just days after Carole Baskin’s new series, Carole Baskin’s Cage Fight, debuts on November 13 on competing streamer Discovery+. The new two-part docuseries will showcase Baskin’s life as a big cat activist and her investigation into the G.W. Zoo, which previously belonged to fellow Tiger King star Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic.
Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars put the cast “Under Pressure” for Queen Night because, for the first time this season, everyone was challenged to perform two routines: a regular dance and a relay. As an added curveball, the competitors had the chance to score up to four extra bonus points in the relay and that allowed one competitor to achieve the highest score of the season.
Thanks to the judges unanimously awarding four bonus points during the relay, Olivia Jade broke JoJo Siwa‘s hot streak and finished the night with a final score of 42 out of 40. The judges also raved over her quickstep to Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls,” with Derek Hough praising, “You are just so genuine when you perform, it’s just so infectious to watch… You didn’t miss a step!”
Siwa fell to second place with an overall score of 39 out of 40 after Judge Len Goodman docked a point because her “Body Language” tango lacked the “slow, deliberate walks” he wanted to see.
Shockingly, the Nickelodeon star was also sent into the bottom two alongside WWE star Michael “The Miz” Gregory. The four judges voted unanimously to save Siwa and caused Gregory’s DWTS journey to come to an end.
That wasn’t the only jaw-dropping moment on Monday night.
Suni Lee raised concern when she unexpectedlysprinted off the ballroom following her paso doble to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and host Tyra Banks announced the Olympian had been wrestling with stomach issues all day. Luckily, Lee was able to power through the Viennese waltz relay and was rewarded with a bonus point for her hard work.
Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby also tugged on the heartstrings when he tearfully opened up about his best friend, Oscar, who lost his battle with addiction in February 2020 and admitted he blames himself for not having “done enough to save him.” His pro dance partner, Cheryl Burke, shared her own struggle with addiction while coaching Rigsby through his guilt and sincerely told him, “There’s nothing you could have done.”
The two celebrated Oscar’s life with their foxtrot to Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend.”
While the night was full of emotional and jaw-dropping moments, next week is sure have even more in store. Banks announced that there will be a double-elimination, which means everyone is in danger of going home.
DWTS will salute the legacy of icon Janet Jackson when it returns next Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Here are the current standings:
Olivia Jade, influencer, with Val Chmerkovskiy — 42/40
JoJo Siwa, Nickelodeon star, with Jenna Johnson — 39/40 Jimmie Allen, country music singer, with Emma Slater — 38/40 Melora Hardin, The Office actress, with Artem Chivensky — 38/40
Cody Rigsby, Peloton instructor, with Cheryl Burke — 36/40 Suni Lee, Olympic Gold medalist, with Sasha Farber — 34/40 Iman Shumpert, NBA player, with Daniella Karagach — 34/40 Amanda Kloots, The Talk co-host, with Alan Bersten — 34/40
On Monday, Lisa Torraco, the attorney for Rust assistant director Dave Halls, had a tense exchange with Martha MacCallum of Fox News, in which the lawyer shifted the blame for last week’s fatal set shooting away from her client.
It had been widely reported that it was Halls who handed the firearm to Alec Baldwin without checking it first, and after declaring the gun was “cold” — or empty.
But when Baldwin pulled the trigger on the Western-style Colt revolver, a live round fired from it, fatally striking cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
When questioned if her client indeed handed the weapon to the actor, Torraco demurred. “The armorer [Hanna Gutierrez-Reed] brought the firearm in to the scene. The armorer is responsible, they make sure the firearm is safe. The armorer opens the revolver, opens the round [sic]. My client didn’t load the firearm. My client didn’t point it and he didn’t pull the trigger,” Torraco insisted.
The lawyer claimed facts in the case were being “twisted.”
MacCallum repeatedly asked Torraco if Halls handed the gun to Baldwin, but she was evasive.
“What I’m saying is I want to put the facts together. I want to deal with evidence,” she said.
She also added, “Whether or not he handed the firearm directly to Alec Baldwin at that moment or whether the armorer handed it to Alec Baldwin at that moment doesn’t really matter because he didn’t load it, he’s not responsible for checking it.”
Torraco repeatedly mentioned another unidentified crew member “touched” the gun, too.
Investigators say hundreds of rounds were recovered from the set including “a mix” of dummy — or harmless prop rounds — blanks, and live ammunition, which has no business being on a movie set, experts agree.
![Dave Bautista calls his role in ‘Dune’ a “blessing”: I’m not [just] a guy in ‘Guardians’ with his shirt off”](https://s3.amazonaws.com/syndication.abcaudio.com/files/2021-11-01/E_DaveBautistia_WarnerBroLegendary_110121.jpg "Dave Bautista calls his role in ‘Dune’ a “blessing”: I’m not [just] a guy in ‘Guardians’ with his shirt off”")
